Local History Website of the SMSU Department of History

Jonathan Fairbanks

Jonathan Fairbanks did a lot for Springfield.  He was born in Andover, Massachusetts on January 7, 1828.  His father died when Jon was only five.  Then, Jon and his brother, James, went to live with their aunt and uncle.  Jon loved learning.  He liked school so much that he later became a teacher.  His first teaching job was in a small town in Delaware.  He taught there for four years.  In 1856, he married Angie Bowker.  They had eight children. 

He got a job in St. Mary’s, Ohio.  A lot of the students in St. Mary’s helped build canals.  They only went to school for part of the day.  Most of the teachers had left St. Mary’s because the students would not behave.  The boys were tough workers who did not like school.  Right away, Mr. Fairbanks brought order to his classroom.  He stood up to the boys’ threats and gained their respect.  The town was amazed at how well Mr. Fairbanks’ students behaved.

In 1866, Mr. Fairbanks moved to Springfield.  At that time only 2,000 people lived in Springfield, but it was growing quickly.  Mr. Fairbanks was a teacher in Springfield.  He also bought a lumber mill in town.  Since a lot of people needed wood to build homes, Mr. Fairbanks’ mill did very well.

Later, Mr. Fairbanks sold his mill and became the superintendent of Springfield’s schools.  In this job, he was in charge of all of the town’s schools.  He kept this job for 40 years.  Mr. Fairbanks believed that there were no bad students.  He helped students and teachers do their best.  Many say that he made Springfield’s schools a lot better.

Mr. Fairbanks always liked learning new things, and he was never afraid to try something new. He liked living in Springfield. He liked to learn things about Springfield and Greene County. He wrote down what he had learned about the past of the town and county. He helped to write an important history of the town and county, Past and Present of Greene County, Missouri.

Author: Grant Miller
Source: Jonathan Fairbanks and Clyde Edwin Tuck, Past and Present of Greene County, Missouri, 1915
Image, portrait of Fairbanks, Courtesy of The History Museum for Springfield-Greene County
(For use in conjunction with the SMSU Campus Compact/WorldCom grant project. You must request permission from the History Museum for Springfield-Greene County to print, copy, or download this image for any other use.)